DUKE 

UNIVERSITY 


LIBRARY 


NORTH  CAROLINA  GEOLOGICAL  AND  ECONOMIC  SURVEY 

JOSEPH  HYDE  PRATT,  DIRECTOR 


ECONOMIC  PAPER  No.  53 


WATER  POWER  SURVEY  OF  SURRY 
AND  WILKES  COUNTIES 


BY 

THORNDIKE  SAVILLE,  HYDRAULIC  ENGINEER 


6 4 7 4-5 

RALEIGH 

Mitchell  Printing  Company 
State  Printers 
1922 


GEOLOGICAL  BOARD 


Governor  Cameron  Morrison,  ex  officio  Chairman— Raleigh 

Frank  R.  Hewitt Asheville 

C.  C.  Smoot,  III North  Wilkesboro 

John  H.  Small Washington 

Hr.  S.  Westray  Battle Asheville 


Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  Director,  Chapel  Hill 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 


Chapel  Hill,  1ST.  C.,  March  20,  1922. 

To  His  Excellency , Cameron  Morrison, 

Governor  of  North  Carolina. 

Sir: — There  is  herewith  submitted  manuscript  on  “A  Water  Power 
Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties,”  which  has  been  made  in  co- 
operation with  the  county  commissioners  of  these  two  counties ; and  it  is 
recommended  that  this  report  be  published  as  Economic  Paper  Ho.  53 
of  the  publications  of  the  Morth  Carolina  Geological  and  Economic 
Survey. 

This  is  the  first  of  a series  of  reports  that  are  being  made  on  the 
water  powders  of  the  several  counties  of  the  State  in  cooperation  with  the 
boards  of  county  commissioners. 

Yours  respectfully, 

Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  Director, 
North  Carolina  Geological  and  Economic  Survey. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/waterpowersurvey01savi 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Preface - 7 

PART  I 

Water  Powers  of  Surry  County 13 

Introduction  13 

Location  1 13 

Climate 13 

Agriculture  13 

Manufactures  13 

Transportation  .... 13 

Water  Powers 14 

Definitions  Relating  to  Water  Powers 14 

Stream  Flow  14 

Cubic  Feet  per  Second  by  Square  Miles 14 

Storage  14 

Pondage  14 

Gaging  Station  15 

Flow  of  Stream 15 

Horsepower  15 

Primary  Power  , 15 

Secondary  Power 15 

Profile  15 

Cross  Section  15 

Topographic  Map 15 

Ararat  River 15 

Matthews  Dam 16 

Hiatts  Dam 16 

Fisher  River 18 

Horseshoe  Bend  19 

Skull  Camp  Mountain  Site 20 

Mitchell  River  20 

Kapps  Mill  Site 20 

Elkin  River : 20 

Yadkin  River  21 

Bean  Shoals 21 

Interconnection  of  Power  Plants 22 


6 


Contents 


PART  II 

PAGE 

Water  Powers  of  Wilkes  County 31 

Introduction  31 

Location  31 

Climate 31 

Agriculture  31 

Forests  31 

Manufactures  32 

Transportation  32 

Water  Powers  , 33 

Elkin  River  33 

Roaring  River  33 

Reddies  River  34 

Lewis  Fork  35 

Elk  Creek 36 

Yadkin  River  36 

Tinsley  Skoals  „ 37 

Barlow  Shoals  37 

Summary  37 

Interconnection  of  Power  Plants 37 

Gaging  Stations  39 


PREFACE 


The  present  report  on  a “Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes 
Counties”  was  prepared  by  the  North  Carolina  Geological  and  Economic 
Survey  in  cooperation  with  the  boards  of  county  commissioners  of  the 
counties,  and  is  the  first  of  a series  of  such  reports  that  the  Survey  hopes 
to  be  able  to  bring  out  covering  the  water  power  resources  of  each 
county  of  the  State.  The  value  of  these  reports  has  already  been  demon- 
strated by  the  use  that  has  been  made  of  the  present  report  while  in 
manuscript  form.  Plans  for  the  development  of  several  water  powers 
described  in  the  report  have  already  been  made. 

The  board  of  commissioners  of  Surry  County  consisted  of  Thomas 
Fawcett,  Mount  Airy;  A.  W.  George,  Elkin,  and  S.  F.  Shelton,  Mount 
Airy,  K.  F.  D.,  and  the  hoard  of  commissioners  of  Wilkes  County  were 
D.  C.  Sebastian,  Hayes;  D.  Y.  Nichols,  Purlear,  and  C.  M.  Caudill, 

Traphiil.  • Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  Director , 

North  Carolina  Geological  and  Economic  Survey. 


PART  I 


WATER  POWERS  OF  SURRY  COUNTY 

BY 


THORNDIKE  SAVILLE,  HYDRAULIC  Engineer 


PART  I 


LIST  OF  MAPS  AND  DIAGRAMS 

[Enclosed  in  Pocket  Attached  to  Back  Cover] 


Fig.  1.  Map  of  Surry  County,  showing  streams,  roads,  and  dam  sites. 

Fig.  2.  Profile  of  the  Ararat  River. 

Fig.  3.  Map  and  section  of  Matthews  Mill  Dam  site. 

Fig.  4.  Cross  sections  of  dam  sites  on  Ararat  River. 

Fig.  5.  Topographic  map  of  Hiatt's  dam  site. 

Fig.  6.  Profile  of  the  Fisher  River,  with  cross  sections  of  dam  sites. 

Fig.  7.  Map  of  Horseshoe  Bend  Dam  site,  Fisher  River. 

Fig.  8.  Profile  of  the  Mitchell  River,  with  cross  sections  of  dam  sites. 

Fig.  9.  Profile  of  the  Yadkin  River,  Bean  Shoals  to  North  TYilkesboro,  N.  C. 
Fig.  10.  Plan  and  profile  of  the  Yadkin  River  at  Bean  Shoals. 

Fig.  11.  Profile  of  the  Yadkin  River  and  Southern  Railroad  at  Bean  Shoals. 
Fig.  12.  Topographic  map  at  Bean  Shoals  Dam  site. 

Fig.  13.  Cross  section  of  Bean  Shoals  Dam  site  on  the  Yadkin. 

Fig.  15.  Map  of  Yadkin  River  from  Salisbury  to  North  Wilkesboro. 

Fig.  16.  Duration  curves  of  Run-off  from  Yadkin  River  at  Salisbury. 


LIST  OF  TABLES 


PAGE 


Table  I.  Power  available  at  dam  sites  on  Surry  County  streams. 17 

Table  II.  Discharge  of  Ararat  River  at  Pilot  Mountain,  N.  C 18 

Table  III.  Gage  Heights  of  Dobson,  N.  C 20 

Table  IY.  Backwater  elevations  from  dam  at  Bean  Shoals 22 

Table  Y.  Discharge  of  Yadkin  River  at  Donnaha 24 


PART  I 


WATER  POWER  SURVEY  OF  SURRY  COUNTY 


By  Thorndike  Sayiixe,  Hydraulic  Engineer 


INTRODUCTION 

Location.- — Surry  County  is  the  northernmost  county  in  the  State 
abutting  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Blue  Bidge.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Patrick  County,  Virginia,  and  on  the  east,  south,  and  west 
respectively  by  Stokes,  Yadkin,  and  Alleghany  counties,  North  Carolina. 
Its  elevation  above  sea  level  is  generally  high,  varying  from  about  600 
feet  at  Boyden  on  the  Yadkin  River  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
county  to  3,609  feet  at  Fisher  Peak  on  the  Blue  Ridge.  A map  of  the 
county  will  be  found  in  the  pocket  at  end  of  report. 

Climate. — The  climate  is  that  of  the  upper  Piedmont  region.  At 
Mount  Airy,  the  principal  city,  elevation  1,048,  there  is  a mean  annual 
rainfall  of  about  47  inches;  the  average,  mean  maximum,  and  mean 
minimum  temperatures  are  56,  68,  and  44  degrees,  respectively.  The 
extremes  of  temperature  range  from  a maximum  of  103  to  a minimum 
of  — 15  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  average  date  of  the  first  and  last  killing 
frosts  is  October  17  and  April  21,  respectively.  The  climate  is  con- 
siderably more  moderate  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county,  especially 
in  the  wide  and  fertile  valley  of  the  Yadkin. 

Agriculture. — In  the  middle  and  southern  parts  of  the  county,  espe- 
cially in  the  river  valleys,  a great  deal  of  fine  tobacco  is  raised.  On  the 
uplands  cotton  and  corn  are  the  staple  products.  In  the  mountainous 
districts  the  county  is  famous  for  its  fine  fruit  and  vegetables,  great 
quantities  of  apples,  cabbage,  etc.,  being  shipped  to  market.  Mount 
Airy  is  the  greatest  cabbage  market  south  of  New  York. 

Manufactures.- — The  furniture  industry  thrives  at  Mount  Airy,  due  to 
the  excellent  timber  still  remaining  in  the  county.  The  chief  industry 
is  the  quarrying  and  cutting  of  granite,  the  Mount  Airy  granite  being 
known  and  used  all  over  the  United  States  for  building  and  monumental 
stone.  There  are  a number  of  cotton  mills  and  gins  throughout  the 
county. 

Transportation. — The  Southern  Railroad  branch  line  between  Win- 
ston-Salem and  North  Wilkesboro  parallels  the  southern  edge  of  the 
county  along  the  Yadkin  River.  The  Atlantic  and  Yadkin  Railroad 
from  Greensboro,  runs  from  Pilot  Mountain  to  Mount  Airy  in  Surry 
County.  These  two  railroads  serve  a considerable  territory  devoted  to 
the  pursuits  noted  above,  and  are  not  far  distant  from  the  streams 


14  Water  Power  Survey  oe  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 

where  good  water-power  sites  are  available.  Good  roads  are  being 
rapidly  constructed  to  bring  the  more  remote  districts  into  communica- 
tion with  the  railroad  and  manufacturing  centers. 

WATER  POWERS 

The  principal  streams  of  the  region,  in  order  of  importance,  are  the 
Yadkin,  Ararat,  Fishers,  and  Mitchell  rivers.  Elkin  Fiver  cuts  across 
the  southeastern  edge  of  the  county  for  a few  miles.  The  natural  flow 
of  the  streams  in  the  northeastern  section  of  this  county  is  as  constant 
as  in  any  other  district  in  the  State — the  rainfall  being  distributed  over 
the  year,  and  the  mountain  sides  having  a strong  second  growth,  which 
retards  flood  discharges,  while  the  rocky  character  of  the  upland  regions 
gives  a large  total  yield  of  the  rainfall  falling  upon  the  surface. 

There  are  no  great  water  powers  in  excess  of  5,000  horsepower  avail- 
able in  the  region  other  than  that  at  Bean  Shoals,  on  the  Yadkin.  There 
are  a number  of  excellent  sites,  however,  where  from  500  to  2,000  con- 
tinuous primary  horsepower  may  be  developed,  and  this  may,  in  some 
instances,  be  more  than  doubled  by  pondage,  permitting  a 10-hour  or 
12-hour  utilization  of  flow.  In  nearly  every  instance  these  sites  are 
located  within  five  or  ten  miles  of  good  railway  facilities,  and  a hydro- 
electric plant  on  the  streams  may  easily  generate  power  to  be  transmitted 
a short  distance  to  manufacturing  plants  located  on  the  railroads. 

In  general,  the  valleys  are  narrow  and  no  large  storage  is  possible  at 
dam  sites.  To  develop  the  streams  for  maximum  power  will  mean 
steam  auxiliary  or  interconnection  with  some  large  station,  such  as  might 
be  constructed  at  Bean  Shoals.  At  many  sites,  however,  the  continuous 
flow  of  the  stream  is  sufficient  to  supply  constant  power  up  to  from  500 
to  2,000  horsepower. 

Definitions  relating  to  water  powers. — The  following  definitions  are 
given  to  enable  the  nontechnical  reader  to  utilize  this  report. 

Stream  flow. — The  amount  of  water  flowing  in  the  stream  under  given 
conditions,  measured  in  cubic  feet  per  second.  One  cubic  foot  equals 
D/2  gallons. 

Cubic  feet  per  second  per  square  mile. — The  amount  of  water  in  cubic 
feet  per  second  flowing  from  each  square  mile  of  the  drainage  area  under 
the  given  conditions. 

Storage. — The  amount  of  water  in  cubic  feet,  or  other  unit,  which 
may  be  impounded  behind  a dam  and  used  to  supplement  the  flow  of  the 
stream  during  extended  periods  (several  weeks)  of  low  flow.  The  effect 
is  to  increase  the  amount  of  continuous  flow  at  the  dam  site. 

Pondage. — The  amount  of  water  in  cubic  feet  or  other  unit  which  may 
be  impounded  behind  a dam  and  used  to  collect  the  flow  of  the  stream 
for  a short  period,  usually  from  12  to  14  hours,  when  the  plant  is  not 
in  use.  It  is  a much  smaller  volume  of  water  than  that  necessary  for 
storage.  The  effect  is  to  enable  the  plant  to  use  in  10  or  12  hours  the 
entire  flow  of  the  stream  for  24  hours. 


Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 


15 


Gaging  station. — A place  on  the  river  where  occasional  measurements 
of  stream  flow  are  made  by  means  of  an  instrument  known  as  a current 
meter.  A pennant  staff  gage  is  usually  installed  at  these  places,  which 
is  graduated  to  read  the  height  of  the  water  surface  in  feet  and  tenths 
of  a foot.  By  daily  observations  of  the  staff  gage  after  measurements 
have  been  made  by  the  current  meter,  the  engineer  is  able  to  compute 
the  amount  of  water  flowing  in  the  stream  each  day. 

Flow  of  streams. — The  average  annual  flow  of  the  streams  of  the 
region  may  be  taken  as  approximately  1.8  cubic  feet  per  second  per 
square  mile  of  drainage  area.  The  average  minimum  monthly  flow 
during  the  dry  season  is  between  0.7  and  1.2  second  feet  per  square  mile. 
The  minimum  flow  for  the  highest  six  months  in  the  year  is  about  1.2 
second  feet  per  square  mile.  The  minimum  daily  flow  in  one  year 
averages  about  0.5  second  feet  per  square  mile. 

Horsepower. — The  horsepower  which  can  be  developed  from  a stream 
is  dependent  both  upon  the  amount  of  water  flowing  and  the  height 
through  which  it  may  be  made  to  fall  by  means  of  a dam  or  other  device. 
A rough  method  for  determining  the  horsepower  available  for  use  is  to 
multiply  the  stream  flow  in  cubic  feet  per  second  by  the  height  of  fall 
and  divide  by  eleven.  It  is  thus  evident  that  while  there  may  be  a very 
high  fall,  the  horsepower  that  can  be  developed  is  not  large  unless  there 
is  a considerable  amount  of  wa  er  flowing. 

Primary  power. — The  amount  of  power  that  can  be  developed  on  the 
average  for  twelve  months  in  the  year.  It  is  usually  a small  percentage 
of  the  average  power  which  can  be  generated  by  a stream  if  storage  or 
auxiliary  power  is  available. 

Secondary  power. — The  amount  of  power  that  can  be  developed  for 
periods  shorter  than  the  entire  year,  as  for  nine  or  ten  months  when  the 
stream  flow  is  not  a minimum.  To  make  up  the  deficiency  due  to  low 
stream  flow'  some  sort  of  storage  or  auxiliary  power  is  needed. 

Profile. — A diagram  vTieh  shows  the  relative  elevation  above  some 
given  place  of  points  along  a stream  bed. 

Cross  section— A.  diagram  showing  the  position  and  elevation  of  the 
hanks  of  a stream  at  a dam  site  with  reference  to  the  bed  of  the  stream. 

Topographic  map. — A map  or  plan  of  a district  showing  by  means  of 
contour  lines  the  elevation  of  different  points  in  the  district  with  refer- 
ence to  some  established  point.  Such  a map  shows  the  relative  eleva- 
tions and  location  of  ground  above  a dam  site*  and  from  it  the  amount 
of  water  to  he  impounded  by  the  dam  can  he  found  and  the  area  which 
it  will  flood  back  of  the  dam. 

ARARAT  RIVER 

This  is  the  largest  of  the  streams  of  Surry  County  tributary  to  the 
Yadkin.  It  enters  that  river  between  Shoals  and  Siloam,  and  extends 
in  a generally  northern  direction  from  its  mouth  to  Mount  Airy.  The 
drainage  area  at  the  mouth  is  about  295  square  miles.  Above  Mount 


16  Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 

Airy  it  is  improbable  that  sites  exist  for  economically  developing  over 
500  horsepower.  A profile  of  the  river  bottom  was  run  from  the  mouth 
to  the  bridge  at  Douglass  Ford  on  the  Pilot  Mountain-Dobson  road,  a 
distance  of  about  twelve  miles.  This  is  shown  in  Fig.  2.  One  or  two 
possible  dam  sites  exist  below  the  Shoals  bridge,  but  there  is  little  fall 
available,  large  areas  of  valuable  land  would  be  flooded,  and  back  water 
from  the  Yadkin  would  frequently  interfere  with  plant  operation. 

The  first  practicable  dam  site  is  located  about  three  miles  above  the 
mouth.  There  are  here  some  shoals  giving  a fall  of  about  eight  feet. 
A profile  of  this  section  of  the  river,  with  cross  section  of  dam  site,  is 
shown  in  Figs.  2 and  4. 

Matthews  Dam. — The  first  really  excellent  dam  site  is  that  at  Mat- 
thews Dam,  about  one  mile  above  the  Shoals  bridge  at  Harlan  Ford,  and 
five  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  river.  At  present  there  is  a new 
timber  crib  dam  here,  eight  feet  high,  which  was  used  to  run  a grist  mill 
not  now  in  use.  A cross  section  of  this  site  is  shown  on  Fig.  3,  indicating 
the  steep  and  high  banks.  It  would  be  possible  to  construct  a 72-foot 
dam,  giving  an  80-foot  fall,  impounding  water  back  to  Ararat  Station 
on  the  Atlantic  and  Yadkin  Railroad  and  giving  excellent  storage.  It 
is  estimated  that  about  4,000  24-hour  horsepower,  or  9,600  10-hour 
horsepower,  could  be  constantly  maintained  without  use  of  auxiliary 
power.  The  site  is  located  near  a good  road  and  about  3 miles  from 
Siloam  Station  of  the  Southern  Railroad.  It  should  be  noted  that  if 
the  Bean  Shoals  development  on  the  Yadkin  is  ever  made,  backwater 
from  this  might  occasionally  handicap  the  Matthews  Dam  plant.  The 
Bean  Shoals  development  is  at  present  a rather  remote  possibility,  owing 
to  the  presence  of  the  railroad,  and  in  the  event  it  is  ever  made,  damages 
could  be  collected  for  any  impairment  of  earlier  developments.  The 
Matthews  mill-dam  site  is  regarded  as  capable  of  the  best  and  greatest 
power  development  on  the  Ararat  River.  It  is  readily  accessible  for 
construction,  is  near  to  good  transportation  facilities,  and  the  back  water 
above  the  dam  will  flood  only  a moderate  amount  of  cultivable  bottom 
lands.  Its  construction  would  eliminate  development  of  all  other  dam 
sites  on  the  Ararat  described  hereafter. 

The  third  dam  site,  at  station  305-|-43,  is  shown  in  cross  section  on 
Fig.  4,  and  is  located  at  the  horseshoe  bend  above  Mkitt  Ford.  It  is 
located  at  the  bottom  of  some  shoals,  giving  a fall  of  about  5 feet.  The 
hills  on  each  side  are  rock  and  foundation  conditions  good. 

The  fourth  site  is  at  station  205  — }— 20,  and  is  one  of  the  best  on  the 
river  from  a construction  point  of  view. 

Hiatt's  Dam. — The  fifth  site  is  known  as  Hiatt’s  dam  site.  There  has 
been  much  agitation  in  Pilot  Mountain  to  develop  here  an  installation 
to  furnish  power  for  the  town.  For  this  reason  a small  contour  map 
of  the  area  above  the  dam  site  was  made  and  is  shown  in  Fig.  5.  This 
site  is  so  high  up  on  the  river  that  a dam  would  be  limited  to  about 


Watee  Powek  Subvey  of  Sueby  and  Wilkes  Counties  17 

20  feet  high.  Otherwise  the  railroad  would  be  flooded  above  Ararat 
Station.  Relocation  is  out  of  the  question.  Not  more  than  500  mini- 
mum 12-hour  horsepower  could  be  developed  here  without  auxiliary 
power  to  carry  the  plant  over  periods  of  low  water.  It  might  be  eco- 
nomical to  develop  for  possibly  700  horsepower,  which  with  pondage  for 
12  hours  per  day  could  probably  be  counted  on  during  10  months  in  the 
year.  The  site  is  not  regarded  as  offering  nearly  so  good  a development 
as  the  next  one  below,  at  station  123— {—19. 

With  the  maximum  development  at  each  dam  site  which  will  not  inter- 
fere with  the  development  of  the  next  site  up  stream,  and  by  develop- 
ment of  all  sites,  1,260  24-hour  primary  horsepower  can  be  developed, 
whereas  the  maximum  development  at  Matthews  Dam  would  alone  give 
4,000  primary  horsepower.  It  is  evident  that  the  latter  development  is 
by  far  the  most  satisfactory  to  make,  both  from  the  standpoint  of  cost 
and  economy  in  operation.  It  is  much  to  be  hoped  that  the  interests 
along  the  river  will  combine  to  develop  this  single  power  to  their  mutual 
advantage. 


Table  I. — Power  Available  at  Dam  Sites  on  Surry  County  Streams 


River 

Location 

Drainage 

Area, 

Tribu- 

tary 

Square 

Miles 

Maxi- 
mum 
Fall  in 
Feet 

Minimum 

Power 

Without 

Storage 

Horse 

12 

Months 

Dower  Ava 
ith  Storag 

6 

Months 

ilable 

e 

3 

Months 

1,300 

15 

1,400 

2,660 

4,750 

5,300 

Bean  Shoals . 

1,300 

100 

11,800 

23,600 

35,000 

47,000 

230 

280 

Matthews  Mill — Sta. 

397+68  

270 

80 

1,965 

3,930 

6,900 

7,850 

Horseshoe  Bend — 

Sta.  305+43  

240 

60 

1,050 

2,620 

3,930 

5,240 

Sta.  205+20  

230 

50 

836 

1,565 

2,090 

3,140 

Sta.  123+19 

220 

42 

673 

1,000 

1,510 

2,100 

Hiatt’s  Sta.  15+70 

200 

20 

290 

363 

545 

728 

Fisher 

156 

Horseshoe  Falls 

112 

100 

815 

2,040 

3,050 

4,070 

Skull  Camp  Mountain 

28 

200 

510 

1,020 

1,530 

2,040 

f 12 

Mitchell 

Mouth 

\110 

Kapp’s  Mill _ 

38 

100 

345 

690 

1,035 

1,380 

Note. — To  obtain  12-hour  power  multiply  figures  given  by  2.  To  obtain  10-hour  power  multiply 
figures  given  by  2.4. 


The  stations  shown  in  Table  I,  and  on  Figs.  2 and  4,  indicate  the 
distance  in  hundreds  of  feet  below  the  highway  bridge  at  Douglass  Ford. 
Above  this  point  developments  in  excess  of  500  horsepower  cannot  be 


18  Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 

made,  owing  to  the  proximity  of  the  railroad  to  the  river  between 
Ararat  and  Mount  Airy.  Above  Mount  Airy  there  are  a number  of 
sites  which  might  be  developed  up  to  400  horse  power — but  none  were 
examined  which  seemed  possible  of  economical  development  to  as  much 
as  500  horsepower.  All  sites  noted  above  are  shown  on  the  general 
sketch  map  of  Surry  County  attached  hereto.  Table  II  gives  monthly 
discharge  at  the  highway  bridge  at  Douglass  Pord  from  October,  1920, 
' to  February,  1922,  inclusive.  This  station  was  established  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1920,  and  daily  observations  have  been  taken  since  September, 
1920. 


Table  II. — Discharge  op  the  Ararat  River  at  Pilot  Mountain,  N.  C. 
Drainage  Area,  200  Square  Miles 


Year 

Month 

Discharge  in  Second-feet 

Run-off 
Depth  in 
Inches  on 
Drainage 
Area 

Maximum 

Minimum 

Mean 

Per  Square 
Mile 

1920 

1,193 

215 

525 

2.62 

2.97 

September 

1 ,340 

215 

367 

1.83 

2.04 

October 

470 

143 

232 

1.16 

1.32 

November  . 

2,540 

171 

495 

2.48 

2 .76 

December 

3,000 

415 

679 

3.40 

3.86 

1921 

January 

2,750 

360 

627 

3.13 

3 .55 

February 

2,535 

472 

723 

3.62 

3.77 

M$,rch-._  

710 

400 

456 

2.28 

2.58 

April  

2,090 

318 

551 

2 .75 

3.07 

May.  . . 

730 

360 

453 

2 .'26 

2.57 

■June.  

1 , 240 

230 

392 

1.96 

2.19 

July 

1,520 

190 

410 

2.05 

2.32 

August  

340 

132 

215 

1.06 

1 .20 

September 

610 

80 

180 

.80 

1.01 

October 

2,710 

75 

216 

1.08 

1 .23 

November 

1,490 

190 

320 

1.63 

1 .82 

December 

350 

115 

219 

1.10 

1.24 

The  year 

2,750 

75 

392 

1 .985 

26 .45 

1922 

720 

138 

248 

1 .24 

1.40 

February 

1,222 

298 

504 

2.52 

2.85 

FISHER  RIVER 

The  Fisher  River  is  quite  lacking  in  really  excellent  dam  sites,  that 
at  the  Horseshoe  Bend,  southeast  of  Dobson,  being  the  only  one  of  note 
on  the  river.  The  river  makes  a sharp  bend  here,  flowing  in  a narrow 
gorge  over  a series  of  shoals,  giving  a total  fall  of  about  10  feet.  A 
profile  of  the  river  from  the  highway  bridge  below  Bear  Creek  to  the 
highway  bridge  from  Dobson  to  Mount  Airy  is  shown  on  Fig.  6. 

Horseshoe  Bend. — There  is  also  shown  on  the  same  figure  a cross 
section  of  the  dam  site  at  the  Horseshoe  Bend.  It  should  be  noted  that 
there  is  a gap  beyond  the  crest  of  the  hill  on  the  right  bank,  and  this 


Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 


19 


precludes  a higher  dam  than  50  feet  without  a dike  across  this  saddle. 
A 50-foot  dam  would  develop  about  760  continuous  primary  horse- 
power, or  1,800  10-hour  primary  power  with  storage.  With  auxiliary 
power,  a development  could  well  be  made  for  probably  50  per  cent  in 
excess  of  these  figures. 

It  would  be  quite  feasible  to  construct  here  a dam  100  feet  or  more  in 
height,  hut  this  would  necessitate  a dike  across  the  gap.  Either  dam 
would  mean  relocation  of  the  present  Mount  Airy-Dobson  highway.  A 
100-foot  dam  would  develop  probably  2,000  continuous  or  6,000  12-hour 
primary  power.  With  auxiliary  power  it  would  be  economical  to  de- 
velop possibly  4,000  or  4,500  horsepower  for  general  use,  or  for  an  elec- 
tric furnace  or  other  similar  industry.  Ho  local  market  exists  as  yet  for 
the  use  of  so  much  power.  This  development,  however,  is  one  of  the 
most  attractive  in  the  region,  and  owing  to  the  exceptional  dam  site 
could  be  constructed  relatively  cheaply.  Some  valuable  agricultural 
land  would,  however,  he  flooded.  A contour  map  of  the  region  imme- 
diately above  the  dam  site  is  shown  in  Fig.  7.  A scheme  for  inter- 
connection of  this  power  with  others  is  considered  later  in  the  report. 


Table  III. — Gage  Heights  on  Fisher  River,  Dobson,  N.  C. — 1920-1921 


Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Apr. 

May 

June 

July 

Aug. 

Sept. 

1 

0.77 

0.72 

1 .97 

1 .73 

1.12 

1 .02 

0.88 

0.87 

0.73 

0.77 

0.77 

0.49 

1 

2 

.73 

.72 

1.95 

1.72 

1.12 

1.02 

.92 

.93 

.67 

.78 

.73 

.61 

2 

3 



.82 

.68 

1.92 

1.73 

1.14 

1.02 

.85 

.97 

.73 

.77 

.77 

.56 

3 

4 



.77 

.67 

1.86 

1.72 

1.13 

.97 

.82 

.93 

.87 

.73 

.78 

.50 

4 

5 

.75 

.75 

.64 

1.83 

1.72 

1.17 

.94 

.77 

.85 

.73 

.74 

.86 

.52 

5 

6 

.73 

.72 

.62 

1.82 

1.72 

1.12 

.97 

.73 

.75 

.72 

.72 

.84 

.52 

6 

7 

.78 

.72 

1.62 

1.96 

1.67 

1 .15 

.78 

.73 

.67 

.86 

.49 

7 

8 

.73 

.72 

1 .73 

1 .93 

1 .73 

1.17 

.93 

.77 

.97 

.78 

.63 

.87 

.51 

8 

9 

.78 

.72 

1 .73 

1 .85 

1 .73 

1 .18 

.87 

.83 

.93 

.83 

.57 

.94 

.74 

9 

10 

.75 

.72 

1.85 

1.73 

1 .76 

3.12 

.85 

.73 

.87 

.87 

.73 

.95 

.51 

10 

11 

.73 

.72 

1.93 

1 .75 

1 .84 

1.18 

.83 

.72 

.87 

.88 

.74 

.94 

.52 

11 

12 

.72 

.68 

1 .95 

1 .85 

1 .83 

1.13 

.78 

.77 

.77 

.73 

.73 

.87 

.51 

___12 

13 

.75 

.66 

1 .82 

4.05 

1 .77 

1.13 

.74 

.83 

.74 

.72 

.75 

.85 

.47 

___13 

14 

.73 

.64 

1 .93 

5.05 

1 .98 

1 .15 

.75 

.73 

.87 

.67 

.77 

.94 

.47 

14 

.83 

.72 

2.05 

1 .32 

1 .82 

1.12 

.74 

.83 

.87 

.64 

.45 

16 

.75 

.72 

2.45 

1.34 

1 .77 

1 .07 

.73 

.92 

.83 

.67 

.78 

.97 

.46 

16 

17 

.73 

.72 

2.82 

1 .13 

1 .75 

1 .06 

.73 

.97 

.83 

.72 

.93 

.87 

.48 

..17 

18 

.72 

.72 

1.93 

1 .93 

1.72 

1.12 

.75 

.93 

.77 

.63 

.92 

.84 

.46 

18 

19 

.77 

.72 

1.83 

1 .82 

1 .82 

1.13 

.72 

.87 

.73 

.73 

.87 

.86 

.46 

19 

20 

.75 

.72 

1 .82 

1.73 

1 .77 

1.17 

.73 

.83 

.77 

.74 

.83 

.88 

.45 

20 

21 

.73 

.72 

1.82 

1.75 

1.73 

1.20 

.74 

.77 

.73 

.73 

.78 

.54 

.48 

21 

22 

.62 

.72 

1.95 

1 .77 

1.72 

1 .17 

.77 

.73 

.87 

.68 

.76 

.54 

.70 

22 

23 

.65 

.72 

1.97 

1.03 

1 .14 

1.15 

.83 

.77 

.83 

.64 

.74 

.53 

.51 

23 

24 

2.55 

.72 

1.92 

1.87 

1.13 

1.12 

.87 

.83 

.87 

.67 

.97 

.52 

.47 

24 

25 

.77 

.72 

1.82 

1.77 

1.03 

1.12 

.85 

.77 

.95 

.74 

.95 

.55 

.49 

25 

26 

.72 

1.73 

1.75 

1 .05 

1 .07 

.77 

.73 

.93 

.73 

.87 

.55 

.52 

26 

27 

.72 

.72 

1.75 

1 .73 

1 .03 

1 .05 

.73 

.83 

.73 

.74 

.85 

.53 

.51 

27 

28 

.78 

.82 

1.73 

1.83 

1 .02 

1.03 

.72 

.93 

.77 

.72 

.73 

.48 

.51 

28 

29 

.77 

.75 

1.70 

1.82 

1.04 



.75 

.97 

.87 

.74 

.78 

.51 

.50 

29 

30 

1.52 

.72 

1.97 

1.77 

1.15 



.78 

.97 

.83 

.78 

.76 

.55 

.54 

30 

31 

.72 

1.75 

1.13 

.83 

.77 

.75 

.51 

31 

20  Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 

STcull  Camp  Mountain  Site. — There  is  an  excellent  dam  site  at  the 
foot  of  Skull  Camp  Mountain,  where  a 200-foot  dam  could  be  con- 
structed. This  would  necessitate  a long  earth  section,  hut  there  is  excel- 
lent storage  above  the  site.  It  is  probable  that  from  1,200  to  1,800 
primary  continuous  power  could  be  developed  here,  which  could  readily 
be  interconnected  with  the  development  near  Dobson  noted  above. 

Mo  other  exceptionally  good  dam  sites  were  noted  on  Pisher  Eiver. 
In  general,  where  the  banks  are  steep  on  one  side,  the  valley  is  broad 
on  the  other.  A number  of  sites  exist  where  low  dams  might  be  cheaply 
constructed  to  develop  from  100  to  400  primary  horsepower.  Gage 
readings  at  Dobson  from  October,  1920,  to  March,  1921,  inclusive,  are 
given  in  Table  III.  A rating  curve  has  not  yet  been  constructed,  but 
will  be  prepared  within  a few  months. 


MITCHELL  RIVER 

This  river,  like  the  Fisher,  presents  few  opportunities  for  economical 
development  of  dam  sites  to  produce  in  excess  of  500  primary  horse- 
power. About  one  mile  above  Douglass  mill  dam,  and  about  iy%  miles 
above  the  mouth  is  a possible  site  where  a dam  40  feet  high  would 
develop  about  350  continuous  primary  horsepower,  or  700  12-hour  horse- 
power. From  this  point  up  the  river  no  really  good  dam  sites  occur 
until  Kapp’s  mill  is  reached,  and  about  10  miles  above  the  mouth.  The 
river  has  a much  steeper  slope  than  either  the  Ararat  or  Fisher  rivers, 
rising  about  15  feet  per  mile.  It  is  possible,  therefore,  to  develop  low 
dams  from  8 to  12  feet  high  at  a number  of  places  and  gain  additional 
height  by  means  of  a flume  or  canal  carried  along  the  banks.  The  power 
to  be  obtained  by  such  developments  may  be  said  roughly  to  approximate 
7 continuous  primary  horsepower  per  foot  of  fall. 

Kapp’s  Mill  Site. — At  Kapp’s  mill  a fair  dam  site  exists.  A cross 
section  of  this,  together  with  profile  of  the  river,  is  shown  on  Fig.  8. 
A dam  100  feet  high  would  develop  approximately  700  primary  con- 
tinuous power,  or  a 10-hour  power  of  1,680  horsepower. 

On  the  headwaters  of  the  Mitchell  Kiver  some  high  falls  are  available, 
up  to  250  feet,  but  although  as  much  as  500  continuous  primary  horse- 
power could  be  developed  at  some  of  these,  the  remote  location,  and  the 
difficulty  of  getting  in  construction  materials  make  them  not  feasible 
economically  for  development  at  the  present  time. 


ELKIN  RIVER 

This  stream  flows  for  only  a few  miles  in  Surry  County,  and  no  unde- 
veloped dam  sites  are  available.  A description  of  the  powers  on  the 
upper  part  of  this  stream  will  be  found  in  the  report  on  the  water  powers 
of  Wilkes  County. 


Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 


21 


YADKIN  RIVER 

Bean  Shoals. — The  Yadkin  River  forms  the  southern  boundary  of 
Surry  County,  and  at  Bean  Shoals,  between  Boyden  and  Shoals  on  the 
Southern  Railroad  is  located  the  best  undeveloped  power  in  Surry 
County.  The  shoals  here  extend  a distance  of  six  miles  from  Shoals 
Station  to  Donnaha,  with  a total  fall  of  40  feet.  By  far  the  larger 
amount,  however,  occurs  in  the  two  miles  between  Shoals  and  Boyden 
stations,  the  fall  in  this  distance  being  27  feet.  ISTo  dam  sites  as  good 
as  at  Shoals  occur  below  this  point,  and  the  remaining  fall  of  the  shoals 
is  not  regarded  as  possible  of  economical  development  in  the  near  future. 

There  are  two  good  dam  sites  located  near  the  foot  of  the  first  portion 
of  the  falls,  about  one-half  mile  west  of  Boyden  Station.  There  are  rock 
hills  coming  close  to  the  river  on  each  side,  and  at  one  site  there  is  a 
large  island  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  which  would  greatly  simplify 
construction.  The  rock  lies  on  edge  normal  to  the  direction  of  the  river, 
and  foundations  for  any  type  of  masonry  dam  would  be  excellent.  Due 
to  the  presence  of  the  railroad,  construction  materials  could  readily  be 
brought  in,  and  there  is  an  abundance  of  local  sand  and  rock. 

The  chief  drawback  to  the  early  development  of  these  sites  is  the 
location  of  the  ISTorth  Wilkesboro  branch  of  the  Southern  Railroad, 
which  runs  parallel  to  the  river,  and  not  far  above  it.  Any  development 
for  more  than  15  feet  at  the  dam  would  necessitate  relocation  of  the 
railroad.  It  should  be  said  in  this  connection  that  a line  has  been  sur- 
veyed from  Shoals  to  Tobaccoville  by  another  route,  following  a higher 
contour.  Such  relocation  would  be  very  advantageous  in  eliminating 
costly  grades  between  Shoals  and  Tobaccoville  on  the  present  line.  By 
removing  the  railroad,  a dam  from  60  to  100  or  more  feet  in  height  could 
readily  be  built.  The  limit  in  height  would  depend  chiefly  on  the  cost 
of  flood  rights,  for  a dam  180  feet  high  would  back  water  to  ISTorth 
Wilkesboro,  53  miles  above,  and  would  flood  portions  of  the  town  of 
Elkin,  and  quite  submerge  the  small  villages  of  Burch,  Crutchfield,  and 
Rockford,  as  well  as  much  valuable  bottom  land. 

Table  IV  shows  the  distance  to  which  backwater  would  rise  from 
dams  of  different  heights.  It  is  believed  that  it  will  never  prove  profit- 
able to  flood  Elkin,  and  the  maximum  height  of  dam  is  thus  limited  to 
about  112  feet.  This  would  develop  at  least  26,400  primary  continuous 
horsepower.  The  data  in  Table  IV  relating  to  power  capable  of  being 
developed  are  extremely  conservative,  and  in  most  instances  the  figures 
there  given  will  probably  be  exceeded  in  practice.  Profiles  of  Bean 
Shoals  are  shown  in  Figs.  9 and  10.  The  profile  of  the  Yadkin  River, 
Fig.  9 (in  pocket),  shows  the  rise  from  the  foot  of  Bean  Shoals  to  ISTorth 
Wilkesboro,  and  data  in  Table  IV  is  taken  from  this.  Fig.  12  shows  a 
contour  map  from  the  dam  site  to  above  Shoals  Station.  Some  idea  of 
the  character  of  the  valley  and  the  amount  of  storage  may  be  obtained 
from  this,  and  also  from  the  general  maps  of  the  Yadkin  Valley,  Fig.  15. 


22 


Water  Power  Survey  of  Surrt  and  Wilkes  Counties 


Table  IV.— Backwater  Elevations  from  Dam  at  Bean  Shoals  on  Yadkin  River 
Drainage  Area,  1,300  Square  Miles 


Height 
of  Dam 
in  Feet 

Backwater  Reaches  to — 

Horsepower  Developed 

12 

Months 

6 

Months 

3 

Months 

18. 

1,700 

3,550 

4,750 

7,800 

11,350 

16,600 

20,800 

26,400 

31,900 

4,250 

7,100 

9,460 

13.000 
18,900 

23.000 
31,200 
29,700 
47,800 

6,350 

10,650 

13,190 

19.500 

26.500 

27. 600 

41.600 

52.800 

63.800 

30  ... 

40 

55 

64 

78 

88 

Crutchfield . 

112 

Elkin 

135 

135 

Railroad  at  Elkin 

145 

187 

200 

Pig.  11  sliows  relative  profiles  of  tlie  river  bottom  and  railroad  from  tbe 
dam  site  to  Sboals.  It  is  evident  that  under  present  conditions  a 15-foot 
dam  might  he  built  without  flooding  the  railroad,  especially  if  the  chan- 
nels were  widened  by  cutting  into  each  side  of  the  island.  Such  a dam 
would  be  about  1,100  feet  long,  and  would  develop  approximately  1,400 
continuous  or  3,360  10-hour  primary  horsepower.  The  storage  de- 
veloped is  about  85,000,000  cubic  feet.  The  drainage  area  above  the 
dam  site  is  about  1,300  square  miles  and  this  figure  may  be  used  in  com- 
puting storage.  The  percentage  of  time  that  given  flow  and  power  can 
be  maintained  are  derived  from  the  duration  curves  of  Pig.  16.  In  a 
general  way  data  from  Fig.  16  is  applicable  to  all  the  streams  in  Surry 
County. 


INTERCONNECTION  OF  POWER  PLANTS 

In  the  development  of  hydro-electric  projects  in  a new  country,  such 
as  the  region  about  Surry  County,  it  is  greatly  to  be  desired  that  all 
installations  be  planned  with  a view  to  eventual  interconnection.  In 
this  way,  when  the  load  at  one  place  is  high  surplus  power  from  another 
place  may  be  brought  in.  It  is  thus  possible  to  have  smaller  machinery 
installations  at  a given  plant,  with  consequent  less  idle  machinery  during 
periods  of  average  load.  Interconnection  of  plants  means  much  greater 
economy  in  operation,  and  usually  less  initial  cost.  Frequently  it  is 
possible  to  do  away  with  steam  auxiliary. 

For  this  reason  there  has  been  indicated  on  the  sketch  map  of  Surry 
County  a transmission  line  connecting  the  principal  developments  noted 
above.  It  is  strongly  urged  that  any  enterprises  looking  to  the  develop- 
ment of  one  or  more  of  the  sites  described  herein  should  consider  very 


Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 


23 


carefully  the  construction  of  a unit  which  will  fit  into  this  interconnected 
system.  Eventually  it  is  hoped  that  the  whole  State  will  he  served  by 
a network  of  interconnected  transmission  lines. 

A very  desirable  scheme  would  seem  to  be  the  development  of  Mat- 
thews dam  site,  on  the  Ararat,  with  the  Horseshoe  dam  site  on  the 
Eishers  River — interconnection  of  the  two,  and  transmission  for  use  to 
Winston-Salem.  Primary  power  of  6,000  continuous  horsepower  could 
probably  he  developed,  and  by  use  of  auxiliary  power  at  Winston-Salem 
the  two  projects  could  probably  be  developed  for  between  8,000  and 
10,000  horsepower.  The  distance  from  Horseshoe  Bend  on  Eishers  River 
to  Matthews  mill  on  the  Ararat  is  about  10  miles,  and  from  Matthews 
mill  to  Winston-Salem  the  distance  is  about  25  miles.  It  would  prob- 
ably be  more  attractive  still  to  construct  a longer  transmission  line,  by 
going  from  Horseshoe  Bend  to  Dobson,  thence  to  Mount  Airy,  then 
south  along  the  railroad  to  Rural  Hall  and  Winston-Salem.  A con- 
siderable market  for  power  exists  in  all  the  small  towns  along  the  line, 
and  the  existing  hydro-electric  plant  on  the  Ararat  at  Mount  Airy  could 
then  he  tied  in.  The  capacity  of  the  whole  system,  with  Matthews  mill 
connected  in,  would  then  be  in  the  neighborhood  of  7,000  primary  con- 
tinuous horsepower,  and  could  well  support  an  installation  of  12,000 
horsepower  with  auxiliary  power.  At  Winston-Salem  it  would,  of 
course,  be  possible,  and  probably  desirable,  to  tie  into  the  Southern 
Power  Company’s  lines. 

In  connection  with  any  scheme  of  interconnection  of  powers  in  this 
region,  the  counties  of  Surry,  Wilkes,  and  Ashe  should  be  regarded  as  a 
unit.  The  interconnection  of  powers  on  Roaring,  Reddies,  and  the  Hew 
rivers  mentioned  in  the  Wilkes  County  report  should  be  carried  out  in 
combination  with  the  interconnection  of  the  powers  mentioned  in  this 
report. 


24 


Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 


Table  V. — Dischabge  of  Yadkin  River  at  Donnaha — 1913-1920 


Month 

Discharge  in  Second-feet 

Run-off 
Inches  on 
Drainage 
Area 

Maximum 

Minimum 

Mean 

Per 

Square 

Mile 

1912-1913 

April  11-30 

12,000 

2,320 

3,810 

2.38 

1.77 

May.. . 

16,600 

2,170 

3,990 

2.49 

2.87 

June 

5,290 

1,460 

2,660 

1.66 

1.85 

July. 

3,680 

1,460 

1,910 

1.19 

1.37 

August 

10,400 

1,460 

3,010 

1.88 

2.17 

September  ....  . ... 

5,290 

1,050 

2,360 

1.48 

1.65 

October 

10,700 

1,050 

2,000 

1.25 

1.44 

November __ 

5,290 

1,320 

1,710 

1 .07 

1.19 

December 

6,610 

1,460 

2,250 

1.41 

1.63 

1913-1914 

October _ 

10,700 

1,050 

2,000 

1.25 

1 .44 

N ovember 

5,290 

1,320 

1,710 

1.07 

1.19 

December 

6,610 

1,460 

2,250 

1 .41 

1.63 

January 

6,100 

1,600 

2,270 

1.42 

1.64 

February 

5,770 

1,880 

3,220 

2.01 

2.09 

March 

7,630 

1,880 

2,680 

1.68 

1.94 

April 

6,610 

2,030 

2,960 

1.81 

2.02 

May 

4,160 

1,320 

2,200 

1.38 

1.59 

June 

1,880 

1,180 

1,460 

.912 

1.02 

July 

7,630 

1,050 

2,030 

1.27 

1.46 

August  

2,320 

815 

1,240 

.775 

.89 

September 

1,320 

720 

992 

.620 

.69 

Year 

10,700 

720 

2,070 

1.29 

17.60 

1914-1915 

October 

26,400 

1,250 

4,470 

1.31 

1.51 

November 

7,210 

1,690 

2,510 

.738 

.82 

December 

50,200 

3,790 

12,000 

3.53 

4.07 

January 

54,400 

4,240 

11,300 

3.32 

3.83 

February 

24,800 

4,400 

8,170 

2.40 

2.50 

March 

9,580 

3,790 

5,060 

1.49 

1.72 

April 

5,050 

3,070 

3,810 

1.12 

1.25 

May 

8,370 

2,800 

3,960 

1.16 

1.34 

June 

32,800 

2,060 

5,560 

1.64 

1 .S3 

July 

4,400 

1,630 

2,540 

.747 

.86 

August 

32, 800 

1,690 

6,340 

1.86 

2.14 

September. 

22,700 

1,940 

4,520 

1.33 

1.48 

Year. 

54,400 

1,250 

5,850 

1.72 

23.35 

Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 


25 


Table  V. — Discharge  of  Yadkin  River  at  Donnaha,  1913-1920 — Con. 


Month 

Discharge  in  Second-feet 

Run-off 
Inches  on 
Drainage 
Area 

Maximum 

Minimum 

Mean 

Per 

Square 

Mile 

1915-1916 

October 

10,100 

1,460 

2,170 

1.35 

1.556 

November 

4,810 

1,600 

1,942 

1.21 

1.350 

December 

14,700 

1,600 

3,147 

1.96 

2.186 

January 

9,370 

2,470 

3,302 

2.06 

2.375 

February 

11,970 

2,320 

3,619 

2.23 

2.405 

March 

3,070 

2,030 

2,211 

1.38 

1.591 

April 

2,170 

1,740 

1,930 

1.20 

1.339 

May 

7,090 

1,600 

2,221 

1.38 

1.591 

June 

6,250 

1,740 

2,301 

1.43 

1.595 

July 

16,600 

1,600 

4,411 

2.75 

2.966 

August.,. 

7,940 

2,470 

3,517 

2.19 

2.525 

September 

4,330 

2,030 

2,462 

1.53 

1.706 

Year 

16,600 

1,460 

2,769 

1.72 

23.185 

1916-1917 

October 

10,100 

2,175 

2,948 

1.84 

2.08 

November 

2,470 

1,880 

2,063 

1.29 

1.43 

December 

2,470 

1,880 

2,022 

1.26 

1 .45 

January  

2,770 

2,030 

2,282 

1.43 

1 .65 

February 

5,610 

2,175 

3,094 

1.93 

2.08 

March 

9,740 

2,310 

4,618 

2.88 

3.32 

April 

9,370 

1,880 

2,741 

1.71 

1.90 

May _ ... 

3,990 

1,880 

2,216 

1.38 

1.59 

June 

2,470 

1,880 

2,120 

1.32 

1.47 

July ... 

8,310 

1,600 

2,606 

1.63 

1.88 

August 

2,030 

1,320 

1,465 

.915 

1.05 

September 

11,400 

1,320 

2,153 

1.34 

1.49 

Year  

11,400 

1,320 

2,527 

1.57 

21.39 

1917-1918 

October  

3,220 

1,180 

1,474 

.92 

1.06 

November 

6,420 

1,180 

1,708 

1.07 

1.19 

December 

1,880 

1,080 

1,551 

.97 

1.12 

January 

8,310 

1,050 

2,665 

1.67 

1.93 

February 

2,470 

1,600 

1,904 

1.19 

1.24 

March___ 

2,770 

1,460 

1,767 

1.10 

1.27 

April 

8,990 

1,460 

2,120 

1.32 

1.47 

May 

2,770 

1,600 

1,712 

1.07 

1.23 

June..  

8,140 

1,320 

2,092 

1.31 

1.46 

July 

6,750 

1,460 

2,175 

1.35 

1.56 

August. . 

5,610 

1,460 

2,275 

1.42 

1.64 

September..  

3,370 

1,600 

1,959 

1.22 

1.36 

Year 

8,990 

1,050 

1,950 

1.21 

16.53 

26 


Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wflkes  Counties 


Table  V. — Discharge  of  Yadkin  River  at  Donnaha,  1913-1920 — Con. 


Month 

Discharge  in  Second-feet 

Run-off 
Inches  on 
Drainage 
Area 

Maximum 

Minimum 

Mean 

Per 

Square 

Mile 

1918-1919 

October - 

7,310 

1,600 

2,355 

1.47 

1.67 

November 

3,450 

1,670 

1,997 

1.24 

1.37 

December 

7,770 

1,810 

2,655 

1.65 

1.89 

January _ 

5,220 

1,880 

2,881 

1.80 

2.07 

February 

3,760 

1,810 

2,146 

1.34 

1.51 

March 

8,480 

1,880 

2,565 

1.60 

1.84 

April 

2,300 

1,880 

2,082 

1.30 

1.44 

May 

7,110 

1,880 

2,642 

1.65 

1.89 

June 

9,690 

1,880 

3,002 

1.87 

2.07 

July 

15,300 

1,740 

3,872 

2.42 

1.63 

August _ 

3,150 

2,170 

2,467 

1.54 

1.77 

September 

2,920 

2,030 

2,247 

1.40 

1 .55 

Year 

15,300 

1,500 

2,576 

1.60 

20.70 

1919-1920 

October 

4,160 

2,030 

2,272 

1.42 

1.63 

November 

2,620 

2,030 

2,210 

1.38 

1.58 

December 

5,210 

2,030 

2,567 

1.60 

1.74 

January 

2,770 

1,880 

2,127 

1.33 

1.53 

February 

4,820 

2,030 

2,261 

1.66 

1.92 

March . 

5,930 

2,170 

3,389 

2.11 

2.43 

April 

13,500 

2,310 

4,533 

2.83 

3.26 

May. 

2,620 

1,880 

2,218 

1.38 

1.58 

June 

5,930 

2,030 

2,534 

1.58 

1.82 

July 

6,250 

2,030 

2,624 

1.64 

1.89 

August 

11,800 

1,880 

4,168 

2.59 

2.98 

September 

11,000 

2,470 

3,665 

2.29 

2.64 

Year.. 

13,500 

1,880 

2,880 

1.81 

25 .00 

PART  II 


WATER  POWERS  OF  WILKES  COUNTY 

BY 


THORNDIKE  SAVILLE,  HYDRAULIC  Engineer 


PART  II 


LIST  OF  MAPS  AND  PROFILES 

[Enclosed  in  Pocket  Attached  to  Back  Cover] 


Fig. 

1. 

Fig. 

2. 

Fig. 

3. 

Fig. 

4. 

Fig. 

5. 

Fig. 

6. 

Fig. 

7. 

Fig. 

8. 

Fig. 

9. 

Fig. 

10. 

General  Map  of  Wilkes  County. 

Profile  of  Elkin  River. 

Profile  of  Roaring  River. 

Profile  of  Reddies  River  with  typical  cross  section. 
Profile  of  Lewis  Fork. 

Profile  of  Lewis  Fork,  west  branch. 

Profile  of  Lewis  Fork,  south  branch. 

Profile  of  typical  cross  sections  on  upper  Yadkin  River. 
Topographic  map  of  Tinsley  Shoals. 

Map  and  profile  south  fork  of  New  River. 


LIST  OF  TABLES 


PAGE 


1.  Drainage  areas  and  power  of  Wilkes  County  streams 34 

2.  Discharge  of  Yadkin  River  at  North  Wilkesboro,  1903-1907 40 


PART  II 

WATER  POWER  SURVEY  OF  WILKES  COUNTY 


By  Thorndike  Satille,  Hydraulic  Engineer 


INTRODUCTION 

Location. — Wilkes  County  is  in  the  northwest  section  of  the  State. 
It  is  bounded  on  the  north  and  west  by  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  counties 
of  Alleghany,  Ashe,  and  Watauga,  on  the  west  by  Surry  and  Yadkin 
counties,  and  on  the  south  by  Iredell,  Alexander,  and  Caldwell  counties. 
The  Yadkin  River  runs  through  the  center  of  the  county.  The  elevation 
above  sea  level  is  generally  high,  varying  from  about  890  feet  at  Love- 
lace, near  the  southeast  border,  to  4,055  feet  at  Tomkins  Knob,  on  the 
Blue  Ridge. 

Climate. — The  climate  is  that  of  the  upper  Piedmont  and  Mountain 
regions.  At  Worth  Wilkesboro,  the  principal  city  (population  2,500, 
elevation  970),  there  is  a mean  annual  rainfall  of  about  52  inches.  At 
Brewers,  elevation  1,950,  located  16  miles  north  of  Worth  Wilkesboro, 
the  average  mean  maximum  and  meau  minimum  temperatures  are  56.7, 
69.5,  and  43.9  degrees  respectively.  The  extremes  of  temperatures  at 
Brewers  range  from  a maximum  of  100  to  a minimum  of  — 9 degrees 
Fahrenheit.  The  average  date  of  the  first  and  last  killing  frosts  is 
October  14  and  April  20,  respectively.  The  climate  is  considerably  more 
moderate  in  the  southeast  section  of  the  county,  especially  along  the 
valley  of  the  Yadkin.  The  State  Geological  Survey  arranged  with  the 
U.  S.  Weather  Bureau  to  have  a rain  gage  installed  at  Worth  Wilkesboro, 
and  records  commenced  in  October,  1921. 

Agriculture. — In  the  central  and  southeastern  parts  of  the  county, 
especially  in  the  rich  aud  fertile  valleys  of  the  Yadkin  and  its  tribu- 
taries, a large  amount  of  fine  tobacco  is  raised.  In  the  uplands  to  the 
north  and  west  of  Worth  Wilkesboro  there  exists  in  the  “thermal  belt” 
one  of  the  finest  fruit-growing  regions  in  the  United  States,  and  great 
quantities  of  apples,  cabbage,  etc.,  are  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try. The  average  temperature  in  the  “thermal  belt”  is  appi’Qximately 
10  degrees  higher  in  winter  and  10  degrees  lower  in  summer  than  in  the 
adjacent  valleys.  Lately  much  attention  has  been  given  to  the  raising 
of  corn  aud  wheat,  many  farmers  raising  over  30  bushels  of  wheat  to  the 
acre.  Wilkes  County  ranks  third  in  the  100  counties  of  the  State  in 
the  number  of  farms,  having  over  4,000  in  1920.  Lumbering  is  an 
important  industry,  there  being  over  100,000  acres  of  virgin  and  150,000 
acres  of  second-growth  timber  available  in  the  county.  Ten  million  feet 
of  lumber  are  exported  annually. 

Forests. — Worth  Wilkesboro  aud  Wilkesboro  are  the  center  of  one  of 
the  greatest  virgin  forest  areas  of  the  United  States.  In  Wilkes  County 


32  Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 

alone  there  are  100,000  acres  of  virgin  timber  land  and  150,000  acres  of 
second-growth  timber.  The  former  will  produce  one  billion  feet  of  mer- 
chantable timber,  700,000  cords  of  pulp  wood,  and  700,000  cords  of 
extract  wood.  The  latter  will  produce  300,000,000  feet  of  lumber, 
2,000,000  cords  of  extract  wood.  Worth  Wilkesboro  or  vicinity  should 
offer  most  attractive  sites  for  successful  operation  of  the  following  indus- 
tries : pulp  mills,  furniture  factories,  match  factories,  handle  factories, 
woodworking  factories,  ready-cut  house  factories.  There  is  a larger 
stand  of  white  pine  in  Wilkes  County,  and  within  a thirty-mile  radius 
of  the  Wilkesboros  than  in  any  other  section  east  of  the  Mississippi 
River.  Within  a thirty-mile  radius  of  the  Wilkesboros  there  are  200,000 
acres  of  virgin  timber,  and  900,000  acres  of  second-growth  timber,  all 
accessible  by  good  roads  or  a logging  road  proposition.  Eleven  million 
eords  of  pulp  wood  are  available  in  this  radius,  and  it  is  still  growing. 

Manufactures. — Worth  Wilkesboro  is  the  greatest  manufacturing  cen- 
ter in  the  northwest  section  of  the  State,  having  an  annual  output  of 
manufactured  goods  exceeding  $8,100,000  in  value.  There  are  nine 
factories  in  the  district  making  corn  mills,  which  are  shipped  all  over 
the  world.  The  largest  tannery  in  the  State  is  located  at  Worth  Wilkes- 
boro, where  aboundant  supplies  of  tan  bark  are  readily  procurable.  The 
total  value  of  manufactured  products  from  this  section  is  about  $11,000,- 
000  annually.  The  section  is  especially  attractive  from  an  industrial 
point  of  view  from  the  cheap  water  power  available,  and  the  excellent 
labor  supply  furnished  by  the  native  population. 

Transportation. — Worth  Wilkesboro  is  the  shipping  center  for  the 
entire  county,  and  also  for  a large  portion  of  the  adjacent  counties  of 
Ashe,  Alleghany,  and  Watauga.  This  town  is  the  western  terminus  of 
the  branch  line  of  the  Southern  Railroad  from  Winston-Salem  and 
Greensboro.  Worth  Wilkesboro  is  the  chief  shipping  point  in  the  entire 
State  for  the  export  of  poultry,  hardwoods,  roots,  herbs,  medicinal  bark, 
canned  goods,  cornmills,  and  produce.  The  roads  program  recently 
adopted  by  the  State  contemplates  a number  of  additional  improved 
roads  from  Worth  Wilkesboro  to  the  adjacent  sections,  and  as  these  will 
be  under  way  early  in  1921,  large  areas  of  this  undeveloped  section  will 
be  opened  up  with  consequent  increase  in  agriculture  and  industry.  The 
Wilkes  Commercial  Club  of  Worth  Wilkesboro  will  furnish  information 
relating  to  the  natural  resources  and  other  advantages  of  the  region. 

Altogether,  this  section  of  the  State,  known  long  ago  as  the  “lost 
provinces,”  bids  fair  soon  to  become  one  of  the  most  flourishing  districts, 
due  to  improved  roads,  agricultural  advantages  in  soil  and  climate,  the 
excellence  of  the  native  labor  supply,  the  amount  and  variety  of  its 
natural  resources,  and  the  abundance  of  undeveloped  water  power  so 
situated  as  to  be  economically  developed. 

A series  of  definitions  of  terms  used  in  water  power  studies  and  in  this 
report  is  given  on  pages  14  and  15  in  the  Surry  County  report. 


"Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 


33 


WATER  POWERS 

Tlie  principal  streams  of  the  region,  in  order  of  importance,  are  the 
Yadkin,  Roaring,  and  Reddies  rivers  and  Lewis  Fork.  The  Elkin 
River  cuts  across  the  southwestern  edge  of  the  county  for  a few  miles. 

A list  of  the  streams  of  Wilkes  County,  together  with  data  relating 
to  drainage  area,  fall,  and  power  is  given  in  Table  I.  The  power  shown 
is  continuous,  or  24-hour  power.  Where  10-hour  or  12-hour  use  is 
desired,  the  amounts  of  power  shown  should  he  multiplied  by  2.4  or  by  2, 
respectively. 

ELKIX  RIVER 

This  stream  flows  in  a northwesterly  direction  in  the  eastern  section 
of  the  county,  crossing  the  county  line  a few  miles  north  of  Elkin  and 
emptying  into  the  Yadkin  River.  There  are  no  large  undeveloped 
powers.  The  stream  itself  is  not  large,  and  the  best  site  has  already 
been  developed  by  the  Elkin  Power  Company.  A fall  of  80  feet  has 
been  developed  for  190  horsepower  for  use  by  the  town  of  Elkin.  There 
are  two  other  small  developments  near  Elkin,  one  belonging  to  the  Elkin 
Shoe  Company  and  the  other  to  the  Chatham  Manufacturing  Company, 
both  being  for  100  horsepower  with  12-hour  use. 

A profile  of  the  river  is  shown  in  Fig.  2.  The  only  undeveloped  site 
of  any  consequence  is  at  station  85— [—00,  where  a dam  of  maximum  height 
of  45  feet  would  develop  approximately  95  horsepower  continuously. 

ROARIXG  RIVER 

This  is  the  largest  tributary  of  the  Yadkin  in  Wilkes  County,  but  in 
the  lower  reaches,  several  miles  south  of  Dockery,  the  valley  is  so  wide 
that  no  good  dam  sites  are  available.  The  best  location  for  a dam  in 
this  portion  of  the  river  is  about  three  miles  below  Dockery,  at  approxi- 
mately station  2T 0— [— 00  on  the  profile,  Fig.  3.  A dam  here  150  feet  high 
gives  large  storage,  and  the  power  possibilities  are  excellent.  Such  a 
dam,  located  less  than  six  miles  from  the  railroad,  would  give  approxi- 
mately the  power  shown  in  Table  I.  This  is  equivalent  to  7,550  12-hour 
power  during  the  entire  year. 

Above  Dockery  there  are  numerous  excellent  dam  sites,  where  dams 
from  50  to  200  feet  high  could  be  readily  built.  Such  dams  might  serve 
at  first  as  storage  dams  to  regulate  the  power  developments  lower  down, 
but  with  provision  for  installing  generating  equipment  as  the  power 
market  grew.  As  storage  dams  alone,  such  developments  would  increase 
the  average  utilizable  yield  of  the  river  from  150  to  250  per  cent. 


34  Water  Power  Stjrvet  oe  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 


Table  I. — Drainage  Areas  and  Power  on  Wilkes  County  Streams 


Stream 

Location 

Drain- 

age 

Area 

Tribu- 

tary 

in 

Square 

Miles 

Maxi- 
mum 
Fall  in 
Feet 

Mini- 

mum 

Power 

With- 

out 

Storage 

80% 

Eff. 

Contini 

Availab 

12 

Months 

ious  Hot 
le  With 

6 

Months 

sepower 

Storage 

3 

Months 

Yadkin  River 

North  Wilkesboro.-.  

490 

220 

100+ 

2,400 

4,800 

9,000 

235 

350 

*580 

250 

*620 

Dam  site  between  North 

560 

60 

4,600 

7,000 

12,000 

Elk  Creek 

49 

47 

125 

1,100 

1,600 

2,200 

24 

25 

Stony  Creek  

Mouth 

42 

Lewis  Fork 

Mouth 

73 

East  Fork  Dam  Site 

26 

50 

180 

210 

295 

350 

West  Fork  Dam  Site  ...  . 

31 

50 

210 

250 

350 

420 

Headwaters,  High  Head 

1 , 500 

1,500 

Reddies  River 

93 

Dam  site  at  town  of  Reddies 

61 

100+ 

1,110 

1,660 

3.330 

East  Fork 

6.9 

| Indiv 



idual 

North  Fork 

31.4 

1 devel 

op- 

Middle  Fork 

15.2 

| ment 

s on  all 

South  Fork 

14.5 

J these 

streams 

2,500 

(See 

text) 

43 

f 

Roaring  River 

137 

Dam  site  below  Dockery 

120 

150 

3,275 

5,000 

8,200 

35 

Dam  site 

23 

45 

94 

140 

200 

300 

27 

% 

17,085 

20,905 

35,800 

Note. — To  obtain  10-hour  or  12-hour  power  multiply  figures  given  by  2.4  or  2.0  respectively. 

"Indicates  power  developed  during  six  high-water  months. 

fNo  powers  in  excess  of  250  H.  P.  JNo  powers  in  excess  of  100  H.  P. 


REDDIES  RIVER 

This  stream  enters  the  Yadkin  at  North  Wilkesboro.  Throughout  its 
lower  reaches  it  has  little  fall  and  no  good  dam  sites.  There  is  a small 
development  at  North  Wilkesboro  for  190  horsepower,  utilizing  a head 
of  21  feet.  Above  North  Wilkesboro  the  stream  otfers  no  opportunity 
for  any  considerable  development  in  excess  of  900  to  1,200  horsepower. 
Below  the  town  of  Reddies  River,  where  the  topography  changes  to  a 
mountainous  character,  there  exists  splendid  opportunity  for  locating  a 
dam  100  or  more  feet  high  to  provide  excellent  storage.  The  estimated 


Water  Power  Survey  of  Stjrry  and  Wilkes  Counties  35 


power  is  shown  in  Table  I,  and  is  equivalent  to  2,200  continuous  12-hour 
horsepower  during  the  year.  A higher  dam  would  develop  more.  A 
typical  cross  section  taken  at  Whittington’s  mill  is  shown  on  the  profile, 
Pig.  4. 

On  the  several  forks  of  the  stream  above  the  town  of  Eeddies  River 
numerous  excellent  dam  sites  exist.  At  these  sites  high  dams  can  be 
built  to  develop  from  300  to  600  continuous  12-months  horsepower,  and 
all  of  them  can  he  located  sufficiently  above  the  Reddies  River  dam  site 
not  to  be  affected  by  it.  Opportunities  exist  here  for  a combination  of  a 
number  of  small  automatic  stations  on  the  forks  to  be  tied  in  to  a con- 
trolling station  below  Reddies  River  postoffice,  to  develop  a total  of 
possibly  4,500  continuous  24-hour  horsepower  during  the  year.  The 
location  of  sites  for  the  smaller  developments  has  not  been  attempted,  as 
they  should  be  planned  with  a view  toward  interconnection,  and  for  this 
purpose  a detailed  study  is  desirable.  It  is  evident  that  sufficient  sites 
exist  and  can  be  located  easily.  Transmission  distance  to  Xortk  Wilkes- 
boro  is  only  ten  miles  from  Reddies  River. 

Some  such  development  as  outlined  above  is  probably  the  most  satis- 
factory and  economical  method  to  be  pursued  in  bringing  additional 
power  to  ISTorth  Wilkesboro.  The  smaller  developments,  of  from  300 
to  600  horsepower,  might  be  made  first,  the  development  above  ISTorth 
Wilkesboro  next,  and  the  larger  controlling  development  at  Reddies 
River  later.  The  whole  should  be  planned  from  the  start,  however,  and 
with  a view  toward  ultimate  interconnection.  A detailed  study  of  this 
project  might  well  be  made  by  the  town  of  ISTorth  Wilkesboro,  to  outline 
to  prospective  industrial  enterprises  the  cheap  water  power  available  and 
the  ultimate  plan  for  large  development.  Industries  would  then  be 
tempted  to  locate  near  the  town  where  rail  facilities  existed,  and  enter 
an  association  formed  to  develop  the  water  powers  and  bring  the  elec- 
tricity to  ISTorth  Wilkesboro  for  use.  The  plan  outlined  above  appears 
very  attractive,  and  it  is  believed  would  prove  relatively  economical  to 
carry  out. 

LEWIS  FORK 

This  stream,  like  most  of  the  rivers  of  this  section,  has  no  good  power 
possibilities  in  its  lower  reaches,  due  to  a wide  valley  with  large  sandy 
bottoms,  although  there  is  a steep  gradient,  as  shown  by  the  profile, 
Fig.  5.  The  good  dam  sites  exist  on  the  East  and  West  Forks,  and  cross 
section  of  selected  sites  are  shown  on  the  profiles,  Figs.  6 and  7.  The 
powers  which  may  be  economically  developed  here  are  shown  in  Table  I, 
but  the  developments  are  handicapped,  due  to  the  limited  drainage  and 
storage  areas  above  the  dam  sites.  It  will  be  a long  time  before  these 
sites  can  he  developed  profitably,  as  other  larger  and  better  sites  exist 
nearer  North  Wilkesboro,  which  provides  the  only  present  market  for 
power. 


36  Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 

There  exist  two  or  three  opportunities  for  high  head  development  on 
the  headwaters  of  the  Forks.  On  the  East  Fork,  particularly,  a develop- 
ment for  between  800  and  1,000  continuous  horsepower  could  he  made, 
utilizing  a fall  of  800  feet,  and  with  a pipe  line  between  one  and  two 
miles  long.  Such  a development  could  be  most  advantageously  made  to 
tie  into  the  proposed  developments  on  the  headwaters  of  the  branches  of 
Reddies  Eiver  noted  in  the  previous  section.  On  these  two  streams, 
Reddies  River  and  Lewis  Fork,  there  is  located  some  6,000  horsepower 
which  can  be  economically  developed  in  relatively  small  units  as  needed, 
and  all  of  which  is  within  a radius  of  16  miles  from  Yorth  Wilkesboro. 

ELK  CREEK 

Elk  Creek  is  the  westernmost  stream  in  the  county  upon  which  any 
considerable  power  developments  may  be  made.  Almost  one-half  its 
total  drainage  area  is  in  Wilkes  County,  the  remainder  being  in  Watauga 
County.  A number  of  good  dam  sites  exist  on  the  stream  in  Wilkes 
County  upon  which  might  he  constructed  dams  from  100  to  150  feet  in 
height.  A typical  development  is  indicated  in  Table  I.  The  sites  are  so 
far  removed  from  existing  markets  that  it  is  doubtful  if  they  can  be 
profitably  developed  at  present. 

YADKIN  RIVER 

Between  Yorth  Wilkesboro  and  Elkin  there  are  in  Wilkes  County  one 
or  two  possible  dam  sites  on  the  Yadkin  River.  The  maximum  develop- 
ment would  be  for  about  60  feet,  and  would  give  a continuous  12-months 
power  of  about  4,600  horsepower  as  shown  in  Table  I.  Such  a develop- 
ment, however,  would  necessitate  relocation  of  the  Southern  Railroad 
between  the  dam  site  and  Yorth  Wilkesboro,  and  with  present  unde- 
veloped sites  available  elsewhere  in  the  region,  this  would  not  prove  at 
present  an  economical  development.  In  the  future,  however,  a develop- 
ment at  Bean  Shoals,  near  Shoals  Station  (see  Surry  County  Water 
Bower  Report),  to  pond  water  to  Elkin,  and  then  a development  above 
Elkin  to  pond  water  to  Yorth  Wilkesboro  would  make  available  some 
30,000  horsepower  for  continuous  all-the-year-round  use.  A profile  and 
a plan  of  the  Yadkin  River  from  Salisbury  to  Yorth  Wilkesboro  is 
appended  hereto  (in  pocket),  and  shows  the  effect  of  developments  made 
as  described  above. 

So  far  as  developments  on  the  Yadkin  in  the  near  future  are  con- 
cerned, much  the  best  opportunity  is  afforded  at  sites  above  Yorth 
Wilkesboro.  Here,  too,  a railroad  (the  Watauga  and  Yadkin  River 
Railroad)  parallels  the  stream,  but  for  some  years  this  road  has  not  been 
in  operation,  and  the  cost  of  either  buying  right  of  way  or  relocation 
should  not  be  excessive.  Moreover,  low  dams  may  he  built  to  a height  of 
15  feet  without  damaging  the  railroad.  The  first  good  site  is  about  nine 
miles  above  Yorth  Wilkesboro,  at  Marley  Ford.  A dam  built  here  to  a 
height  of  15  feet  would  not  interfere  with  the  railroad,  and  would  not 


Water  Power  Survey  oe  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties  37 


back  water  to  the  Tinsley  Shoals  site  above.  This  is  an  attractive  site 
for  location  of  an  industry,  as  tbe  railroad  can  readily  be  placed  in 
serviceable  shape  and  will  enable  a dam  to  be  constructed  cheaply,  and 
later  furnish  excellent  transportation  facilities. 

Tinsley  Shoals. — At  Tinsley  Shoals,  about  12  miles  from  Yorth 
Wilkesboro,  there  are  two  good  dam  sites,  that  at  the  head  of  the  shoals 
being  the  better.  A cross  section  of  each  is  shown  on  the  profile,  Fig.  8. 
Here  two  15-foot  dams  might  be  built  without  injuring  the  railroad, 
each  giving  substantially  the  power  as  shown  in  Table  I.  A map  is 
shown  in  Fig.  9. 

Barlow  Shoals. — At  Barlow  Shoals,  about  15  miles  above  Yorth 
Wilkesboro,  there  is  an  excellent  dam  site,  shown  in  cross  section  on 
Fig.  8.  Should  a 100-foot  dam  be  built  here,  flooding  out  the  railroad, 
a considerable  power  might  be  developed  as  shown  in  Table  I.  There  is 
excellent  storage  above  this  site,  as  the  river  broadens  out  in  the  Yadkin 
Valley.  This  is  a farming  region,  and  flood  rights  are  likely  to  be 
expensive.  It  is  possible,  therefore,  that  Marley  Ford  or  Tinsley  Shoals 
would  prove  a better  location  for  a high  dam,  inasmuch  as  there  is  from 
20  to  30  feet  fall  to  be  gained  by  going  down  the  river  to  those  sites. 
Moreover,  this  might  also  affect  less  certain  developments  on  Elk  Creek, 
which  would  be  eliminated  in  the  lower  reaches  by  a dam  at  Barlow 
Shoals.  All  the  sites  mentioned  offer  good  opportunities  to  develop 
from  2,000  to  3,000  continuous  horsepower  all  the  year.  Which  site 
should  be  selected  and  the  height  of  dam  is  contingent  upon  (1)  damage 
to  railroad;  (2)  cost  of  site;  (3)  cost  of  flood  rights.  A development  at 
Barlow  Shoals,  of  course,  still  makes  it  possible  to  have  low  head  develop- 
ments with  rail  facilities  at  the  two  lower  sites. 

SUMMARY 

The  developments  outlined  in  this  report  are  such  as  can  be  economi- 
cally made  on  streams  in  Wilkes  County  for  amounts  in  excess  of  200 
horsepower  continuous  all  the  year  round.  There  is  a total  of  approxi- 
mately 18,000  continuous  24-hour  horsepower  capable  of  development  in 
Wilkes  County  within  a radius  of  20  miles  of  ISTorth  Wilkesboro.  Of 
this,  about  9,000  horsepower,  or  one-half  the  total,  can  be  developed 
without  flooding  existing  railroads.  Actual  installations  are  rarely  made 
for  the  continuous  24-hour  power,  since  most  industries  operate  on  a 
10-hour  or  12-hour  basis.  It  is  probable  that  it  is  feasible  to  install 
between  25,000  and  35,000  horsepower  on  streams  in  Wilkes  County,  of 
which  between  12,000  and  15,000  horsepower  would  not  interfere  with 
existing  railroads. 

INTERCONNECTION  OF  POWER  PLANTS 

In  the  development  of  hydro-electric  projects  in  a new  country,  such 
as  the  region  about  Yorth  Wilkesboro,  it  is  greatly  to  be  desired  that 
all  installations  be  planned  with  a view  to  eventual  interconnection.  In 


38  Water  Power  Stjrvey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 


this  way,  when  the  load  at  one  place  is  high,  surplus  power  from  another 
place  may  he  brought  in.  It  is  thus  possible  to  have  smaller  machinery 
installations  at  a given  plant,  with  consequent  less  idle  machinery  during 
periods  of  average  load.  Interconnection  of  plants  means  much  greater 
economy  in  operation  and  usually  less  initial  cost.  Frequently,  it  is 
possible  to  do  away  with  steam  auxiliary. 

Probably  in  no  part  of  North  Carolina  are  natural  conditions  and 
economic  considerations  so  favorable  to  interconnection  as  in  the  terri- 
tory served  by  ISTorth  Wilkesboro.  The  natural  outlet  from  a vast  agri- 
cultural, mining,  forest,  and  fruit-growing  region,  with  rapidly  expand- 
ing local  industries  and  good  rail  connections,  the  phenomenal  growth 
of  the  city  seems  only  to  depend  upon  the  initiative  of  its  citizens  in 
exploiting  and  making  available  the  great  undeveloped  water  power 
resources.  It  is  to  be  expected  that  industries  will  locate  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  city  as  cheap  power  is  made  available.  It  will  probably 
be  desirable  to  develop  this  power  at  first  in  small  blocks  of  from  500  to 
2,000  horsepower.  Numerous  sites  exist  within  a 15-mile  radius  of  the 
city  and  their  location  is  pointed  out  in  this  report.  These  should  all 
be  developed  with  a view  to  interconnecting  them  with  each  other,  and 
eventually  with  some  large  controlling  plant. 

On  the  New  Piver  in  Ashe  County  is  a site  owned  by  North  Wilkes- 
boro interests,  and  capable  of  developing  some  10,000  continuous  all-the- 
year  horsepower.  The  details  of  this  development  are  shown  in  Fig.  10, 
prepared  from  data  loaned  through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  H.  C.  Landon  of 
North  Wilkesboro.  This  possible  development  is  less  than  25  miles  from 
North  Wilkesboro,  and  could  be  readily  developed  to  supply  a large 
industry  and  act  at  the  same  time  as  a central  station  into  which  all  the 
smaller  powers  mentioned  heretofore  could  be  connected,  as  well  as  other 
moderate-sized  developments  in  Ashe,  Watauga,  and  Alleghany  counties. 
There  seems  no  reason  to  prevent  the  growth  in  this  district  of  great 
manufacturing  centers,  since  the  distribution  of  large  and  small  water 
powers  is  almost  ideal.  As  stated  previously,  it  is  the  fervent  hope  of 
the  State  Geological  and  Economic  Survey  that  the  several  commercial 
organizations  in  Wilkes  and  adjacent  counties  will  unite  in  having  a 
detailed  study  made  of  the  water  powers  of  the  district,  with  a view  to 
the  preparation  of  a definite  plan  for  gradual  development  and  inter- 
connection. 

For  this  reason,  there  has  been  indicated  on  the  sketch  map  of  Wilkes 
County  a transmission  line  connecting  the  principal  developments  noted 
above.  It  is  strongly  urged  that  any  enterprises  looking  to  the  develop- 
ment of  one  or  more  sites  described  herein  should  consider  very  carefully 
the  construction  of  a unit  which  will  fit  into  this  interconnection  system. 
Eventually  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  whole  State  will  be  served  by  a 
network  of  interconnected  transmission  lines. 

It  is  evident  that  Wilkes  County  is  in  a very  remarkable  position  as 
regards  an  unusual  combination  of  natural  resources  in  power  and 


Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 


39 


agriculture,  combined  with  excellent  labor  supply  and  good  transporta- 
tion facilities.  There  seems  every  reason  to  believe  that  with  proper 
exploitation  of  these  advantages  there  is  great  opportunity  for  the 
development  in  the  district  tributary  to  North  Wilkesboro  of  a great 
agricultural,  manufacturing,  and  industrial  region.  The  North  Caro- 
lina Geological  and  Economic  Survey  will  be  glad  to  receive  inquiries 
relating  to  specific  details  of  the  matters  outlined  in  this  report,  and  to 
bring  outside  interests  in  touch  with  opportunities  for  locating  in  Wilkes 
County. 

GAGING  STATIONS 

The  development  of  water  power  projects  is  predicated  upon  the  avail- 
able stream  flow.  Consequently,  long-period  observations  of  stream  flow, 
covering  both  wet  and  dry  years,  are  exceedingly  important  in  consider- 
ing the  water  power  resources  of  a region.  The  North  Carolina  Geo- 
logical Survey,  in  cooperation  with  the  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
has  for  many  years  maintained  gaging  stations  on  North  Carolina 
streams.  In  the  Wilkes  County  district  a gaging  station  was  maintained 
on  the  Yadkin  River  at  North  Wilkesboro  from  1903  to  1907,  inclusive. 
The  records  from  this  station  are  appended  hereto  as  Table  II.  The 
station  was  reestablished  in  1920,  and  daily  observations  of  discharge 
are  now  being  made.  During  1922  there  will  be  established  similar 
gaging  stations  on  Reddies  River  and  Roaring  River.  It  is  believed  that 
the  data  to  be  obtained  from  these  stations  will  be  of  great  value  in 
indicating  what  stream  flow  may  be  depended  upon  for  water  power 
developments.  The  records  from  these  stations  will  he  published  an- 
nually by  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  in  its  water  resources 
papers  dealing  with  the  South  Atlantic  States.  Records  for  any  par- 
ticular stream  may  be  obtained  by  writing  to  the  North  Carolina  Geo- 
logical Survey. 


40 


Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 


Table  II — Estimated  Monthly  Discharge  of  Yadkin  River  at  North  Wilkesboro,  N.  C. 


Drainage  area,  498  square  miles 


Month 

Discharge  in  Second-feet 

Run-off 

Maximum 

Minimum 

Mean 

Second- 
feet  per 
Square 
Mile 

Depth  in 
Inches 

1903 

April  10-30 

3,270 

1,415 

2,064 

4.15 

3.24 

May 

1,415 

974 

1,169 

2.35 

2.71 

June...  . . 

5,770 

890 

1,417 

2.85 

3.18 

July 

2,170 

659 

916 

1 .84 

2 .12 

August 

1,380 

575 

815 

1.64 

1.89 

September 

1,530 

512 

647 

1.30 

1 .45 

October 

6,220 

491 

770 

1 .55 

1.79 

November 

1,115 

449 

568 

1.14 

1.27 

December 

743 

365 

502 

1.01 

1.16 

1904 

January ... 

860 

322 

532 

1.07 

1.23 

February 

1,730 

322 

742 

1.49 

1.61 

March 

9,300 

611 

1,171 

2.35 

2.71 

April . ...  ...  ..  . 

935 

513 

602 

1.21 

1.35 

May _ 

14,500 

513 

1,467 

2.95 

3.40 

June . 

4.375 

611 

1,224 

2.46 

2.74 

July 

7,650 

513 

1,032 

2.07 

2.39 

August—  ..  . 

3,950 

611 

1,059 

2.13 

2.46 

September 

1,770 

417 

594 

1 .19 

1.33 

October  ......  . 

417 

345 

381 

.765 

.882 

November 

1,060 

369 

461 

.926 

1.03 

December 

1,285 

369 

506 

1.02 

1 .18 

The  year 

14,500 

322 

814 

1.64 

22 .31 

1905 

January 

3,330  . 

215 

720 

1 .44 

1.66 

February _ 

2,860 

340 

929 

1 .86 

1.94 

March.. 

1,060 

570 

740 

1.48 

1.71 

April 

2,950 

530 

772 

1.54 

1.72 

May 

3,240 

510 

1,010 

2.02 

2.33 

June.  _ ___  ___ 

1,720 

410 

585 

1 .17 

1.30 

July 

11,600 

530 

1,680 

3.36 

3.87 

August 

3,420 

530 

1,200 

2.40 

2 .77 

September 

6,000 

490 

819 

1 .64 

1.83 

October 

2,950 

490 

608 

1 .22 

1.41 

November ...  _ 

510 

450 

485 

.970 

1 .08 

December 

7,200 

470 

1,290 

2.58 

2.97 

The  year ... 

11,600 

215 

903 

1.81 

24.59 

Water  Power  Survey  of  Surry  and  Wilkes  Counties 


41 


Table  II. — Estimated  Monthly  Discharge  of  Yadkin  River  at  N.  Wilkesboro,  N.  C.— Con. 


Discharge  in  Second-feet 

Run-off 

Month 

Maximum 

Minimum 

Mean 

Second- 
feet  per 
Square 
Mile 

Depth  in 
Inches 

1906 

January 

11,400 

677 

2,160 

4.32 

4.98 

February _ _ - 

1,690 

840 

1,020 

2.04 

2 .12 

March __  _ __  __  . 

3,710 

840 

1.460 

2.92 

3.37 

April . _ ....  .... 

3,330 

865 

1,230 

2.46 

2.74 

May __  

3,900 

677 

986 

1.97 

2.27 

June.  _ 

6,500 

677 

1,840 

3.68 

4.11 

July 

4,100 

815 

1,550 

3.10 

3.57 

August . 

17, 100 

972 

2,900 

5.80 

6.69 

September..  ...  _.  

5, 700 

1,340 

2,110 

4.22 

4.71 

October _ ...  . 

17,000 

1.720 

3,270 

6 .54 
5.04 

7.54 

November..  ..  __  . .... 

17,900 

1,440 

2,520 

5.62 

December 

6,700 

1,120 

1,710 

3.42 

3.94 

The  year ... ... 

17,900 

677 

1,900 

3.79 

51.66 

1907 

January...  . . ...  

3,710 

1,080 

1,480 

; ' 
2.96 

3.41 

February.  . ... 

1,440 

890 

1,040 

2.08 

2.17 

March _______________ 

2,310 

835 

1,180 

2.36 

2 .72 

April..  ....  _ ......  ..  ... 

3,520 

862 

1,320 

2.64 

2.94 

May  ... ...  

1,250 

755 

945 

1.89 

2.18 

June.. _.  . 

8,000 

920 

1,940 

3.88 

4.33 

July . . 

'1,820 

705 

982 

1.96 

2.26 

August . 

1,080 

590 

716 

1.43 

1.65 

September  ...  _ . 

8,500 

510 

985 

1.97 

2.20 

October . 

680 

490 

546 

1.09 

1.26 

November _.  . _ 

3,140 

490 

778 

1.56 

1 .74 

December _. 

7,700 

550 

1,570 

3.14 

3.62 

The  year . 

8,500 

490 

1,120 

2.25 

30.48 

Note.— Discharge  above  4,000  second-feet  approximate. 


<V\ , o 


;<v 

l ' I’ 


i - 

.1 

J 


NORTH  CAROLINA 
GEOLOGICAL  AND  ECONOMIC  SURVEY 


PROFILE  AND  MAP 
DEEP  RIVER 

mow 

JAMESTOWN  N.C. 

TO 

MONCURE  N.C. 


NORTH  CAROLINA 

GEOLOGICAL  AND  ECONOMIC  SURVEY 
Joseph  Hyde  Pratt  - Director 
Thorndike  Saviue  ~ Hydraulic  Ensineer 
TOPOGRAPHIC  MAP 

STORAGE  AREA 

ABOVE 

TINSLEY  SHOALS 
Serial  No.  2-  B 


NORTH  CAROLINA 

GEOLOGICAL  AND  ECONOMIC  SURVEY 
Joseph  Hyoe  Pratt  - Director 
Thorndike  Savilie  -Hydraulic  Engineer 


TOPOGRAPHIC  MAP 


BEAN  SHOALS  ON  YADKIN  RIVER 

SCALE  IN  EEET 


CONTOUR  INTERVAL  ~ IO  FEET 

5enal  No.—  I - C 


-4- 


NORTH  CAROLINA 

GEOLOGICAL  AND  ECONOMIC  SURVEY 
Joseph  Hyoe  Pratt  ~ Director 
Thorndike  Saville  "Hydraulic  Engineer 
map  OF 

HORSESHOE  DAM  SITE 
FISHER  RIVER 


Serial  No.  I'E. 


Dam 


IMW™ 


MWrftr 


N0R1H  CAROLINA 

GEOLOGICAL  AND  ECONOMIC  SURVEY 

Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State  Geologist 
Thorndike  Seville,  Hydrjulc  Engineer 
Map  cf 

Mikes  County 

J&  aaarrfiany  irpft  Jri 
Miter  fbnrrj 

Thvri  • »*r> — 

[)j'n  3> fti  fatxateJ  X 

ruttutif  Df^tvpripQtj  O 


- 


FIG.  3 


NORTH  CAROLINA 

| GEOLOGICAL  AND  ECONOMIC  SURVEY 
Joseph  Hrot  Pratt  - Director 
TnoftNOint  Sawllc  -tlroMuu c Em  iNtfft 
MAP  AND  SECTION 

MATTMEW’5  MILL  SITE 
ARARAT  RIVER 

IScaIe°f=^ - =if°Feet 


Serial  No.~ 


T 3 3 T 


7i  if 


■St-iOvns  • too  n 


iJW 


jrour 


OLD  A I CUM  OHO 


fpnnkles 


) no  ran  Island 


%i>**  foe*  Cr 
tube  hocm 


CAST  BC  HO 


mo  pi  aims 


Citrf/flo  ferry 
ft  Bohonnen!  feed 


MAPS  M/US 


Y/ssmie 


yC~f»u  renntt  o 

\ \diony  Stool 


RU3A{ 


rir/ur 


)m>*co 


* tower  ferry 


' /ft  i *v  i ferry 


mum  r S*  rllf 


rente 


-Crtwmt  rAtts 


tAommuue 


cmsTMur  fewe  r 


A *ttHQ  GAP 


\ CROSS  ROAOS 


At?yAwr( 


rARWNtTOM 


WOOORo 


etBAr/ite\ 


)LOHQTOWN 


SMITH  GROVe 


fOLTOHi 


NAMProMvniU 


YADKIN  RIVER.  N C 


' n,a We  d * i 
Herrdu  Island 


row w curs 


7 weed  bland 


FROM  WILKESBORO 


TO  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA  R R .BRIDGE 
/ NEAR  SALISBURY 


^ ffeetes  Island 
fitcres  ^drey 


I HOLMAN 


foeUARlAMt 


OiS/wi,  re  re/ 


{ock srtUC 


ffeynobi 


JfAUSAUM 


NOTE 

Post  Offices  are  teftered  thus:  AOVttttCC 
Past  Offices  ore  indicated  Mm  O 
Poods  ore  indicated  tnus  =====  and  c 
on/y  opproyimotely  toco  fed  except 
m fde  vicinity  of  Me  river 
County  Oounaonej  art  indicated  Mu s-  - 
ana  ore  on/y  opononorofr  ty  7ocotect 


I Hants  tsl 
nuttrry  OrA 


NORTH  CAROLINA 

GEOLOGICAL  AND  ECONOMIC  SURVEY 

Jo jeph  Hyde  Pratr,  Director 
Thorndike  Seville,  Hydraulic  Engineer 


Island 


- 


honored- fool  itoiions 


Horizontal  Distonce  in  Hundred  - Toot  Stations 


Vertical  Scale  in  Fee 


Vertical  Scale  in  Feet 


Discharge,  in  Cu  ft  per  Sec  per  Sq  Mile 


Percentage  of  Time 


. 

DURAT 

YADKI 

ION  Cl 

FOR 

si  R 1 

;rve 

VER 

5ALIS 

Oct 

NEAR 

BURY 

B95  To  Jul) 

N.C. 

I9lfl 

FIG 

16 

Months 


FIG.II 


NORTH  CAROLINA 

geological  and  economic  survey 

Joseph  Hyde  Pratt  ~ Director 
Thorndike  Saviue  ~rtrDRAuuc  Engineer 
profiles  OF 

YADKIN  RIVER  AND  SOUTHERN  RAILROAD 
FROM  FOOT  OF  BEAN  5HOAL5 
TO  MARTIN’S  FERRY 
Serial  No.~  1'L 


Sco  i e 


of  Fee 


-US£±±iiJ 


Vert, col  Scale  In  Feet 


PripoMd  04 


555  N873  no . 53 


60795 


5D0iO2DDba 


es  -ou  ed8N  ess 

pue  fij-ins  iO  Re^jns  jemod  -ie;en 

ssiauaan  Aiisa3niNn  3ana 


